Sec. 6.
(a) The
owner, operator, or permittee of an MSWLF containing new MSWLF units or
existing MSWLF units that have a composite bottom liner system and a leachate
collection system shall install a final cover system as defined in subsection
(b) within one hundred eighty (180) days on any area in the MSWLF units as
approved in the closure plan that:
(1) has
received the final waste volume; or
(2) is filled to the approved final waste
elevation; or as approved under section 5(b) of this rule.
(b) Final cover systems for new MSWLF units
or existing MSWLF units that have a composite bottom liner system must consist
of the following, starting from the top of the municipal solid waste mass
(waste placement) to the top of the final cover system:
(1) A methane gas venting layer must be
installed directly over the waste. This layer must consist of twelve (12)
inches of drainage layer material that has a hydraulic conductivity of 1
× 10-3 centimeters per second or more.
Geosynthetic material (geotextile, geonet, both, or other material as approved
by the commissioner) may be substituted for drainage layer material in the gas
venting layer if equivalent or better performance is demonstrated. The owner,
operator, or permittee must demonstrate that transmissivity and permitivity
provide for the anticipated gas discharge quantity.
(2) A soil barrier layer must be installed
over the methane gas venting layer. The soil barrier must consist of a lower
component of twelve (12) inches of structural fill and an upper component of
twelve (12) inches of compacted earthen material with a hydraulic conductivity
of 1 × 10-6 centimeters per second or less.
The upper component must be soil of Unified Soil Classification ML, CL, MH, CH,
or OH. Other suitable material approved by the commissioner may be used if it
provides an adequate level of protection to human health and the environment.
Grain size, Atterberg limits, and hydraulic conductivity tests as approved by
the commissioner must be performed to confirm the quality of the final
cover.
(3) A minimum thirty (30)
mil geomembrane top liner must be installed directly in contact with the upper
portion of the soil barrier layer. If the geomembrane is composed of high
density polyethylene (HDPE), then it must be at least sixty (60) mil thick. The
commissioner may require an increase in the thickness of the geomembrane if it
is determined that increased thickness is necessary to prevent failure under
stresses caused by construction equipment and waste settlement during the
post-closure care period.
(4) A
drainage layer must be installed over the geomembrane liner. The drainage layer
must consist of twelve (12) inches of material that has a hydraulic
conductivity of 1 × 10-3 centimeters per
second or more. If geosynthetic materials are used as a drainage layer, the
effective transmissivity must be equivalent to twelve (12) inches of drainage
layer with a hydraulic conductivity of 1 ×
10-3 centimeters per second or more.
(5) A top protective soil layer must overlay
the drainage layer. This layer must consist of at least eighteen (18) inches of
earthen material. If geosynthetic materials are used as a drainage layer, at a
minimum, thirty (30) inches of earthen material must be placed on top of the
geosynthetic materials. The protective soil layer material must be designed to
not clog the drainage layer.
(6) A
vegetative layer must overlay the top protective layer. This layer must consist
of at least six (6) inches of earthen material capable of sustaining
vegetation. In any case, a total thickness of earthen material over the
geomembrane top liner must not be less than thirty-six (36) inches.
(7) The maximum projected erosion rate of the
final cover must be no more than five (5) tons per acre per year.
(8) The final cover must have a slope no less
than four percent (4%) or two and twenty-nine hundredths (2.29) degrees and no
greater than thirty-three percent (33%) or eighteen and twenty-six hundredths
(18.26) degrees.
(c) The
requirement in subsection (b)(1) may be waived by the commissioner if the
following apply:
(1) The MSWLF has a
permitted active gas recovery and extraction system in place.
(2) The permitted active gas extraction
system at the MSWLF extracts or recovers at least sixty percent (60%) of the
total volume of landfill gas produced or generated by the MSWLF.